Pope Benedict XVI Names Synod Fathers

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 18, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Pope Benedict XVI has named the Synod Fathers for the upcoming XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

The Synod Fathers are those who are chosen to participate in the synod. They include Patriarchs, Archbishops, Metropolitans and Bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Bishops elected by the Episcopal Conferences, ten representatives of clerical religious institutions, heads of the various departments of the Roman Curia.

The prelates named are those who have received a personal invitation from the Holy Father. The various cardinals, archbishops, and priests represent the major countries, episcopal conferences, and charisms that exist within the church.

Among the presidents of the various episcopal conferences attending the Synod are Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM/SCEAM), Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary and president of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), andArchbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla, president of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM).

Also named by the Holy Father to attend were various representatives of different religious orders and charisms within in the church including Opus Dei, Communion and Liberation, the Schoenstatt Fathers, and the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.

The Synod, which will take place from October 7 -28, will focus on the theme "The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith".

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On ZENIT's web page:

For the full list of Synod Fathers, go to ...

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